1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas filling apparatus and the inlet port therein, and more particularly to a gas filling apparatus for introducing the gas into a storage apparatus that is used to hold the semiconductor device or reticle thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent years see rapid development of semiconductor technology, including photolithography that plays an important role therein, as photolithography is indispensable to patterning. When it comes to semiconductor, photolithography involves fabricating a transparent reticle with a specific shape in accordance with an intended circuit, and projecting a light source through the reticle to form a specific pattern on a silicon wafer by exposure and development. Any dust and particles (such as microparticles, powder, and organic matter) attached to the reticle can deteriorate the quality of imaging, and thus the reticle can be kept cleaning when used in patterning. In general, a wafer process is performed in a clean room to prevent contamination by airborne particles. However, clean rooms nowadays are not absolutely free of dust.
Hence, contamination-free reticle-holding devices, commonly known as reticle pods, for preserving and delivering reticles are used in a semiconductor process nowadays in order to keep the reticles clean during the semiconductor process. During a semiconductor process, a reticle-holding device (hereinafter referred to as a reticle pod) holds a reticle, allows the reticle to be moved and delivered between machines, insulates the reticle from ambient air, and prevents the reticle from contamination and being changed thereby. Hence, advanced semiconductor foundries usually endeavor to assure the cleanliness of standard mechanical interface (SMIF) reticle pods, that is, the reticle pods should have a Class 1 or sub-Class 1 rating for cleanliness. Hence, a gas-fillable reticle pod is one of the solutions in use.
To fill a gas into a reticle pod, the reticle pod must have at least one gas inlet port for connection with a gas-supplying device which supplies the gas to the reticle pod. The present invention provides a reticle pod and a method for keeping a reticle clean and dry, to improve the prior art regarding the position of a gas inlet port of the reticle pod, and regarding a method for introducing a gas into the reticle pod to remove moisture therefrom and carrying contaminated gas away from the reticle pod.